Movie Suggestions For Software Engineers
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Software engineers spend enough time in front of a screen for work. Still, sometimes another screen can be a good way to rest. I especially enjoy films and documentaries connected with technology, mathematics, invention, and the people behind systems. The Imitation Game tells a dramatized story around Alan Turing and codebreaking during the Second World War. Hidden Figures focuses on African-American women mathematicians who worked at NASA and reminds us how much important technical work can remain invisible in popular history.
The Social Network is less about programming itself and more about ambition, relationships, business, and the growth of Facebook. Pirates of Silicon Valley looks at the early rivalry and history around Apple and Microsoft. Documentaries can be even more interesting. Revolution OS explores free software, GNU, Linux, and the open-source movement. Indie Game: The Movie follows independent game developers and shows the emotional cost behind small creative projects.
I do not watch these films to learn technical details. Movies simplify history and change events for storytelling. I watch them because they show the human side of technology. Behind every famous system there are people. They become tired.
They compete. They make bad decisions. They become obsessed. They fail. Technology is never only code. Stories can remind us of that.